


Passed Checks & Past Choices

by OffshoreWriter



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Skybound - Freeform, a REALLY weird Skybound AU, can you tell I've never played D&D or anything like it, totally self-indulgent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:15:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28870656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OffshoreWriter/pseuds/OffshoreWriter
Summary: Amateur improv. Math. Adventure at every turn. The sound of dice clattering across a table, surrounded by friends. The classic tabletop RPG Checks & Choices is usually a great way for the residents of Ninjago to relax, but a few realms away, it's about to get a lot more serious.Faced with the fact that an especially unpleasant character is about to have their scroll of destiny pulled from the shelf again, one of Cloud Kingdom's most experienced writers decides to try a new way to keep things in line: a couple of sessions of Checks & Choices, with the writers under her jurisdiction playing as some of the most powerful people across the realms. It's just a game. Really, how badly could it go?
Relationships: Nya/Jay Walker
Comments: 7
Kudos: 8





	Passed Checks & Past Choices

**Author's Note:**

> A simple premise that wouldn't leave my head: what if the folks up in Cloud Kingdom decided to control the Ninja's destinies in real time via tabletop RPG? It would certainly explain all of their increasingly bizarre adventures.
> 
> Also, yes, I know I said I wouldn't be writing anything else. Looks like that was a lie. Sorry to disappoint.
> 
> Updates might be pretty sporadic - I'll do my best to get this out efficiently, but I'm still ironing out my characters.

The sunlight streaming into the judicial chamber is blinding, but standing in its golden glow, Dara has never felt more confident.

"So you want to leave the destinies of some of the most influential people under our jurisdiction... up to a game." The Master Writer lazily swipes his finger across the dusty tabletop - the Cloud Kingdom is too peaceful for this chamber to see much action.

"Yes." Dara’s voice is serene, self-assured.

"A game the mortals play. A game you have  _ never _ played before, that you’ve only heard about in passing scrolls."

"Yes.”

"You do understand that we don't ordinarily condone games here - Dara, you've been a senior writer for centuries.” A frown crosses the Master Writer’s face, crinkling his aged skin like thin paper. “You understand, then, more of the dangers of distractions in our line of work."

"This wouldn't be just a game. Face it - after Morro broke out of our hands, the only thing that can prevent a similar disaster is a level of unpredictability. You know as well as I do that Nadakhan is slated for a return thanks to… a  _ certain _ writer's recent little prank -”

“Is Bragi acting up again?”

Dara ignores him. “I fear that, if he is written without something to temper him, Ninjago may be destroyed just as Djinjago and the Cursed Realm were. You've read his old scrolls. You know what he's been capable of even under our most conservative writers. Something about getting to control his kind just makes people  _ snap _ . Didn't you write for his father for a while?"

"I... well, yes."

"And you went mad with his abilities, and you permanently destabilized their realm by making it too grand. Look where that got them. Nobody - especially not anyone here - should be able to use that kind of power without some kind of balancing force. And what better to keep them in check than  _ all _ of the writers involved bouncing off of each other?”

The Master Writer goes silent, quietly drumming his fingers on the tabletop. Dara continues. 

“Our current system is fine for regular mortals living their quiet little lives. Writing their destinies independently works because it doesn’t much matter if they overlap in strange ways. Little events bumping into each other don’t change anything, really. 

“But the Ninja are so high-profile that if even _two_ of them are written to do something too powerful, it could end in disaster. The Master of Water was able to take down two realms  _ by herself. _ Combined with Morro bucking his destiny like that, I can’t imagine that that kind of unchecked power  _ wouldn’t _ take out the rest of the realms given enough time. The writers don’t collaborate at all, and I think if they did, they’d be able to temper what the others do. It's a miracle we haven't lost more to careless writing.”

“And the game would help that  _ how? _ ”

Dara smiles. “Let me show you.”

With a kind of reverence that she only shows to the most ancient scrolls, Dara pulls something out of her flowing robes. It's unassuming, even cheap-looking at first - a book, maybe an inch and a half thick, bound in faux red leather. Most of the book’s thickness comes from how well-worn the pages were, but as she slides it across the table, Dara is careful not to crush the creased paper. Bronze letters embossed on the cover in an overly fancy script glitter in the sunlight.

The Master Writer picks it up and turns it over in his hands before opening to the title page and reading aloud, “ _ Checks & Choices: A Comprehensive Rulebook, Expanded Edition.  _ Dara, where did you get this?”

“It was in the distraction storage room.”

“I trust you were in there for a good reason.” Dara rolls her eyes subtly - he knows she does her best work when she’s actively fighting the urge to do something else. She’s in there so often she’s considering bringing her desk in. 

The Master Writer slowly leafs through the well-used pages, stopping here and there to consider different headings:

_ Worldbuilding for the Absolute Beginner _

_ Crafting Unbelievably Believable Characters _

_ Keeping Track of Your Statistics _

_ Party-Wide Status Ailments And How To Inflict Them Responsibly _

_ Beyond the Sessions: Real Stories of Real Players and Real Successes _

His silence would be unnerving to anyone else, but Dara isn’t surprised - the Master Writer has never been very chatty. As he pages through the book, Dara remains exactly as she is, praying he comes around.

After a small eternity, the Master Writer gently shuts the book and meets Dara’s eyes. “So you want to leave the Ninja’s destinies from here on out up to this.. a roleplaying game.”

“Yes.” Dara closes her hand tighter around the small velvet pouch she’s holding, jostling its contents.

“A roleplaying game almost entirely dependent on cooperative writing - a thing you believe is going to solve some of the most confounding problems of our line of work.”

“Yes. A couple of them, at the very least.” Dara feels an odd sense of déjà vu.

"You do understand that we don't usually condone games here - Dara, you've been a senior writer for centuries.” 

A smile crosses the Master Writer’s face, crinkling his aged skin like the pages of a well-loved rulebook. 

“You understand, then, that I think this is an  _ excellent  _ idea.”


End file.
